Street-Level Youth Media is a non-profit, media arts literacy organization serving Chicago's youth. We teach audio engineering, mixing, video production, digital photography, online journalism, and more. If you are between the ages of 12 through 24, all of our programs and services are free.

If you live in Chicago and are between 12 - 24 years old, come take part in one or all of our media arts programs, book a private studio session, use our computer lab or join one of our clubs. We also host an open-mic on the first Friday of each month.

On January 29, 2013, Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old Chicago high school student, was shot to death. To help honor her life, Hadiya’s friends chose to wear orange – the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves and others. On June 2, 2015, which would have been Hadiya’s 18th birthday, a massive coalition came together to wear orange for the first-ever National Gun Violence Awareness Day to honor Hadiya’s life, the lives of the 88 Americans who are shot and killed every day and the hundreds more injured due to gun violence. The #WearingOrange message, which was shared by President Obama, MTV, BJ the Chicago Kid, Motown Records, Russell Simmons, the New York Mets and thousands of others, reached 220 million people in just one day.

Wear Orange was inspired by bold and creative Chicago teens who refused to be silent in the face of daily gun violence. From song, to rap, to spoken word, the “Voices of Orange” talent competition is a way for other Chicago teens to add their voices to the effort to reduce gun violence in this country.

Entries will be accepted starting today through April 4, 2016. Special consideration will be given to submissions about peace, nonviolence or reducing gun violence. The winning prize is $3,000, the chance to have submissions seen by Grammy-nominated artist and “Voices of Orange” celebrity judge, Andra Day, and the opportunity to perform for a huge crowd that will include major record label executives at the Chicago Party for Peace on National Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 2, 2016.

More information about the competition and entry requirements is available at VoicesOfOrange.org.